In this lesson, you learn about structured behavioral interviewing and how a typical structured behavioral interview works.
Whether you're searching for an entry-level employee or a seasoned executive, structured behavioral interviewing will help you select the best candidate for the job. The technique is based on the behavioral consistency principle that the best method of predicting future behavior is to determine past behavior under similar circumstances.
Plain English
Behavioral Consistency Principle . Argues that the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior in similar situations.
Practically speaking, the behavioral consistency principle suggests that probes such as "Tell me about a disagreement you've had with your boss" will prompt more worthwhile information about an applicant than questions such as "If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be?"
Behavioral questions force candidates to discuss real-life situations in which they use key skills to solve problems. As a result, interviewers are given a unique opportunity to look "behind" the resumé and discover a candidate's real potential.
Tip
Expect some candidates—those who rehearsed their answers in preparation for a traditional interview—to be surprised that the questions you ask require them to think and reveal real-life behaviors.
Structured behavioral interviewing has a proven track record of success. My informal research has shown that this method of interviewing improves the probability of hiring successfully by more than three times the rate of a traditional, less structured interview. Current employment literature reports similar findings and recommends structured behavioral interviewing as a best practice.
But that's not all. Consider these added benefits:
Structured behavioral interviewing provides an orderly, efficient process of job-related assessment.
Behaviorally based questions yield more valuable information about a candidate than questions normally asked in traditional interviews.
Managers obtain and evaluate behavioral evidence of skills and abilities before making critical hiring decisions.
Legal guidelines involving fairness in the selection process are respected.
There is maximum assurance that a good match will ultimately exist between new hires and the jobs that they enter.
Structured behavioral interviewing results in shorter new employee training time, higher initial productivity, and significantly lower rates of turnover.
Successful organizations use structured behavioral interviewing because it works. Hiring decisions based on behavioral evidence about a candidate's job-related skills are bound to be better decisions than those based on a "hunch" or "a gut feeling."
Traditional forms of interviewing can enable some candidates to look good because they offer the ideal opportunity to display their presentation skills and knowledge of the subject matter. But talking in generalizations is one thing, and offering concrete examples is another.
Structured behavioral interviewing requires a candidate to talk about real-life situations in which they used the particular skill being evaluated. Using the structured behavioral interview model, it's not "Do you know how to do it?" but rather "Tell us how you've done it and the result that you achieved."
Structured behavioral interviews differ from traditional interview formats in a number of additional important ways. For example:
Control of the structured behavioral interview always remains with the interviewer. Candidates are never allowed to redirect the focus of questions to areas of their own choosing.
The interview is "structured," which means that the same job-related questions are asked of all candidates and that each question is based on a specific mandatory success factor of the job.
Candidates are evaluated using a standard evaluation tool also based on mandatory success factors. "Gut feelings" and "hunches" are ignored.
Candidates are not presented with hypothetical questions to answer or problems to solve. Instead of being asked to speculate on what they would do in certain situations, candidates are asked what they have actually done in similar situations in the past.
Follow-up probes, similar to those used in more traditional types of interviewing, are used extensively to test answers for accuracy, honesty, and consistency.
Interviewers take copious notes throughout the interview, as opposed to other forms of interviewing, in which taking notes is not as much of a priority.
Consistency is important in the interview process. It ensures that interviewers perform quality interviews that elicit relevant information, and that candidates leave with a favorable impression of the organization.
The structured behavioral interview process is no exception. You'll need to consider the following consistency guidelines.
First, if you plan to use a panel of interviewers, be careful whom you select. This is especially important if the position being filled is a senior position. For most positions, however, a good rule of thumb is to invite all supervisors to whom the new employee will report, together with a peer or two from the department or unit in which the opening exists. These are the people who know what it takes to get the job done; their input will be valuable.
Tip
A panel interview offers the advantage of allowing several interviewers to question and evaluate a candidate. Consider assigning roles to members of the interview team: "hostile interviewer," "friendly interviewer," "company salesman," and so on. How a candidate responds to the various personalities can in itself be revealing.
Second, in developing the interview process, make sure that you allocate enough time for each interview, remembering that part of the time allotted must be devoted to evaluating the candidate following the interview. Usually the position to be filled will determine the length of the interview. (It's common for middle-management positions to require interview slots of two hours or more.) Don't short-change either the candidate or yourself by failing to provide an appropriate amount of time for the tasks to be accomplished.
Third, be sure to stay on schedule. Nothing communicates unprofessionalism quicker than interviews that always seem to be "running late." Start on time; end on time. In fact, it's a good idea to inform a candidate of an anticipated end time before the interview begins. Concern about time demonstrates regard for the candidate and for those participating in the interview.
Fourth, to the extent possible, arrange only morning interviews. It's a fact that neither candidate nor interviewer performs as well later in the afternoon. Give yourself and your candidates an opportunity to perform at peak levels.
Finally, try to avoid interviewing more than two to three candidates a day. It's difficult to do justice to more than that.
To ensure consistency in the interview process, be sure that your interviews contain three major parts:
Opening
Information exchange
Closing
Although each stage is distinct and has a unique purpose, the overall process should be seamless. Moving from the opening to the information exchange and finally to the closing should be done smoothly and naturally.
Tip
Give each interviewer all the candidate's information well in advance of the interview. This will enable each participant to ask pertinent questions about a candidate's background, and generally will enhance the interviewer's ability to evaluate candidates.
Interviews should open with a genuine attempt to put the candidate at ease. The interviewer (or primary interviewer, in panel interview formats) should use body language that conveys warmth and genuine pleasure in meeting the candidate—standing when the candidate enters the room, leaning forward to offer a handshake, and smiling are great ways to break the ice and establish instant positive rapport.
Once the candidate is seated, introduce him or her to everyone participating in the interview and ask each panel member to introduce themselves by name and position within the organization.
The opening of the interview is the time to talk about the interview process. Tell the candidate what to expect during the interview.
Begin by providing a context for the interview. You might say something like, "The purpose of our interview with you today is to provide you with an opportunity to learn more about our organization … and for us to learn more about you. We're particularly interested in learning whether you have the qualifications we're seeking for the position of sales manager."
Caution
In attempting to help a candidate feel at ease, it's tempting to ask a few personal questions that are irrelevant to the job. Resist the temptation! Even innocent questions about a candidate's family are prohibited and could be grounds for a discrimination action by an unsuccessful applicant.
The information exchange is the central part of the interview. During the information exchange, questions are asked and information is received that will lead directly to a decision to hire or not to hire. Don't hesitate to ask as many follow-up questions as needed whenever you feel that more information is required.
Be sure that all questions about the candidate's experience, education, and work history are asked and answered. Now is the time to explore any gaps in a candidate's employment history, and to confirm (if necessary) important information about education, experience, and job-related skills and abilities. Such questions should be limited; this is not a time to ask a candidate to make a verbal presentation of the entire resumé.
Tip
Practice the 80/20 rule: During the core part of an interview, the candidate should do 80 percent of the talking, and the interviewer should do only 20 percent. Resist the urge to help candidates who become stalled or who are searching for words to convey information.
To help put a candidate at ease, it's wise to ask easier questions first. Questions about the candidate's resumé or application having to do with experience or training work particularly well in the beginning of an interview, as do questions that elicit insight into a candidate's character and personality such as, "Of all the jobs you've held in the past, which was the one you liked best and why?"
As you move into the more difficult structured behavioral questions, be sure to allow the candidate time to think through each question and formulate a response. Allow periods of silence. Don't rush the candidate, either verbally or nonverbally.
The manner in which you close an interview will leave a lasting impression on the candidate. Interviews should be closed in a professional, unhurried manner. Ask one member of the team to "sell the company" by presenting the benefits of working for the organization and the opportunities that exist. Invite the candidate to ask any lingering questions. Finally, tie up any loose ends that need attention, and inform the candidate of what to expect next.
Don't forget to thank the candidate for participating in the interview. By standing and offering a handshake, you signal to the candidate that the interview has concluded.
In the structured behavioral interview model, the process of evaluating candidates should also be structured. You should devise an assessment tool to help your organization evaluate candidates consistently. (See Appendix B, "Interview Evaluation Summary." )
Design your assessment tool with simplicity and consistency in mind. The idea is to assess a candidate's behavioral evidence as it relates to the mandatory success factors required by the position. That's as technical as your tool should get.
Tip
Occasionally I've found assessment tools that appear to be very complicated and technical. With some of them, the math alone would probably frighten Einstein. Take my word for it, you don't need anything that complicated. I recommend that you construct your own assessment tool and keep it simple. Simple tools are usually the most effective.
In constructing an assessment tool, devise a system in which mandatory success factors identified within each skill set are weighted depending on importance. For example, if there are six mandatory success factors in the technical skills set, the most important of the six factors would be given a weight of 6; the second most important would be weighted 5; the third would be weighted 4; and so on.
Candidate performance scores for each factor, which may range from 0 (poor) to 5 (excellent), are then multiplied by the weight factor to arrive at an adjusted score for the factor being assessed. If several members of an interview team have rated the candidate, average the scores for each skill set to determine final candidate scores (see Appendix B).
Here are some additional ideas to consider as you develop a process for evaluating candidates following an interview:
Don't wait. Make it a point to take a few minutes following each interview to complete the evaluation. The quality of evaluations sharply decreases when they are completed following a series of interviews.
If you have used a panel of interviewers, hold off any discussion of a candidate's strengths and weaknesses until each member has completed the written evaluation.
Instruct each team participant to focus on the evidence of important job-related skills. Don't allow "gut feelings" to play a role in the evaluation process.
Be sure that all interviewer notes have to do with a job-related topic. Ignore anything that is not directly applicable to the job for which the candidate has applied.
Make sure that interviewer notes are legible and that they contain complete sentences. Interviewer notes may become very important when it's time to make a hiring decision.
Deciding on a location for the interview is an important part of the planning process. Choose a location suitable to the situation.
For example, if the position you're attempting to fill is, at the moment, confidential, choose a location away from the office. Private meeting rooms in hotels can work well in these instances.
But most of the time, candidates are interviewed in the workplace. For those situations, I recommend conducting interviews in an office or meeting room that is comfortable, well lit, and free of disrupting noise. Your objective should be an atmosphere that will help the candidate feel at ease.
If there's a telephone in the room, unplug it or turn off the ringer. Consider hanging a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door during the interview to prevent unnecessary interruptions. Instruct members of the interview panel to turn off cellular phones and pagers. Advise secretaries and other office staff to disturb panel members only in cases of extreme emergency.
Also be mindful of seating arrangements. Panel interviews are sometimes set up so that the candidate, sitting alone, faces the interview panel, seated at a long table. This can be a very intimidating arrangement for the candidate (although effective if you want to observe a candidate's behavior in a tense situation). A less intimidating arrangement would be for the interview panel to be seated around a long table, with the candidate at one end.
Structured behavioral interviewing is based on the theory that the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior in similar circumstances.
Structured behavioral interviewing examines behavioral evidence of a candidate's skills and abilities, and compares them to identified mandatory success factors of the job being sought.
The process of structured behavioral interviewing should be well defined and communicated to all who participate so that interviews are conducted in a consistent manner.
The primary purpose of the interview is to hear from the candidate, so be sure to follow the 80/20 rule—let the candidate do most of the talking.
Scoring by evaluators should be completed immediately following each interview to preserve integrity of the data and to maintain consistency.
Make location and seating arrangements part of your interview planning process.